Superman: War of the Worlds
Novel information Superman: War of the Worlds is a DC Comics Elseworlds comic story, published in 1998. Written by Roy Thomas with Michael Lark as the artist. The story is a rough adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel ''The War of the Worlds'', but is primarily based on the Superman mythology. Wells' story is transported from early 20th century Britain to Metropolis in 1938. Where the Martian invasion is met with a Golden Age-style Superman who is not blessed with the full range of powers that he typically has in modern comics. Plot Earth is being watched by the envious eyes of Mars. On the red planet a cold and unsympathetic civilization plans to invade our world. Far away, an even older world, Krypton, sends its last son to Earth. The baby Kal-El is found by the Kents and develops super strength, the ability to run faster than a railway engine, leap an eighth of a mile and has near-impenetrable skin. After the passing away of his elderly foster parents, Clark vows to use his powers to benefit mankind. In 1938, explosions are seen on Mars, but Earth doesn't pay much attention to them. Clark applies for a job at the Daily Star, where he meets Lois Lane. Needing reporters and with most of his staff down with the flu, Perry White sends Clark and Lois to report on a meteor, which has crashed the previous night. They arrive just in time to see Professor Ogilvy and Doctor Luthor investigating the meteor, which is in fact a giant metal cylinder. The lid unscrews and the crowd around the cylinder cries in horror as they see a pair of Martians emerge. Professor Ogilvy waves a white flag in hopes of communicating with the Martians, but is incinerated by one of their weapons. The crowd starts to panic as more shots are fired. When Clark protects Lois from the rays, his civilian clothes are burned off revealing Superman's costume underneath. The Army arrives and prepares to deal with the cylinder when it opens and tripods emerge. The five tripods start firing at the army, whose weapons are useless against the metal hulls. Superman picks up a cannon and beats a tripod with it. As he finishes off the Martian inside, the four remaining tripods walk to Metropolis. Lois meets up with Lex and they retreat to Lex's laboratory. Earth's forces are being massacred until Superman joins the fight in Metropolis. Superman fights the tripods as best he can, but is subdued by another alien weapon, the black smoke. The tripods capture Lois and Lex while another two blast Clark with their heat rays before capturing and imprisoning him. With nothing left to stop them, the Tripods lay siege to Metropolis - with George Taylor getting killed when a heat ray hits the Daily Star. Three weeks later, Superman is held captive by the Martians, who are being helped by a now-bald Luthor after a Heat-Ray burned off all of his hair. All of Earth's major cities have been conquered and many humans have been reduced to slaves or cattle. Many world leaders, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, were killed in the attack. Luthor reveals that Earth's bacteria have been making many Martians sick, and that they are studying Clark, who he deduces is in fact an alien like them. At Luthor's request, Lois has been kept alive, mostly to keep Superman in check. Lex deduces that Clark's Kryptonian biology is canceling the deadly effects of Earth's bacteria, which is why the Martians around him are not sick. The Martians now no longer need Luthor to help them study Superman and they prepare to devour him. Lois and Luthor free Clark and he starts fighting the Martians. After leveling the ones inside the ship and the ones tending to their human prisoners, Lois recoils from Superman, telling him that she can't bear to have an alien touch her after what the Martians have done. Tripods arrive and Superman takes them down as best he can. The last tripod discards its legs and begins to fly. As Superman finally takes it down, he dies from exhaustion and from the wounds he received from the Heat-Rays. Acting on Clark's insight, Luthor quickly finds a way to destroy the remaining Martians. Earth's nations begin their road to recovery. Germany, Japan, Italy and the former Soviet Union elect semi-democratic governments, while the United Kingdom turns to fascism and chooses Oswald Mosley as its Leader. Lex Luthor and Lois Lane later marry. John Nance Garner becomes President and Lex becomes the new Vice President. A statue of Clark Kent is erected in front of the new League of Nations as a testament to his bravery. Trivia *The story is set in 1938 as the year has particular significance for both properties; as not only is it the year when Superman made his first appearance in Action Comics, but also the year of the infamous Orson Welles Radio Broadcast of "The War of the Worlds". *Ironically, Superman encounters Orson Welles in the 1950's comic Superman #62 - with the comic story "Black Magic on Mars" making nods to the original War of the Worlds story as Superman and Orson Welles work together to save Earth from a group of genuine Martians known as the Solazi Martians - led by Martler. *The town of Woking from the original novel is included in the comic, although here it is stated to be a location not far from Metropolis as opposed to its real-life location in Surrey, England in the original novel. *During the battle between Superman and the Tripods at the Martian concentration camp, Superman lifts a car above his head and uses it to smash a Tripod's leg in order to topple it. The image of Superman holding the car above his head is a homage to the cover of his first appearance in Action Comics. *This version of Superman is referred to constantly as Clark Kent throughout the comic, with the only one who refers to him as "Superman" been Lex Luthor - who calls him the "Nietzschean Superman". This references both Frederick Nietzsche and the concept of the Übermensch (German for "Superman", "Superhuman", etc) that featured in Frederick's philosophies. *Furthermore, when a human prisoner at the camp asks Clark about the "S" emblem on his chest, Clark admits that he doesn't know; stating that the symbol was on a blanket that he was wrapped in while he was on the rocket that brought him to Earth. *It's believed that this story (or a similar one) was a part of Hypertime in the comic The Kingdom Volume 1 Part 2, as one of the images the heroes see is of Superman beaten and captured by the Martians. External links * [https://www.amazon.com/Superman-War-Worlds-Elseworlds/dp/1563893967/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8 Superman: War of the Worlds] at Amazon.com * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_War_of_the_Worlds Superman: War of the Worlds] at Wikipedia * [https://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Superman:_War_of_the_Worlds_Vol_1_1 Superman: War of the Worlds] at DC Wikia Category:Superman Category:The War of the Worlds adaptations Category:Crossover Category:Comics and Graphic Novels